Improvement in copying manuscript



2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

J. J0 NBS MECHANICAL TYPOGRAPHBR.

1%. 8,980 Patented June 1, .1852.

2 Sheets8heet 2. J. JONES. MECHANICAL TYPOGRAPHER. No. 8,980. Patented June 1, 1852.

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UNITE STATES PATENT Fries- JOHN JONES, OF'GLYDE, NEW YORK.

I Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. S,90, dated June 1, 1852.

To aZZ whom" it'may concern:

Be it known that '1, JOHN J onus, of Clyde, in the county of Wayne and State of New York, have invented -a new and useful apparatus or machine -by which a person may copy manuscript or convey his thoughts directly upon paper with type, and which apparatus or machine I'term a Mechanical Typographer;- and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, c1ear,;'and exact description of the construction and operation of the same, i'eference being had to the annexed drawings, making a part of this specification, in which v Figure l is a side view of the machine in elevation. Fig. 2- is a plan or birds-eye view 0t same. Fig.3 ise-a plan 'or birds-eye view ofthe mechanism by which the cylinder is op-' erated, the cylinder having two-motions'viz., a motion in a straight line in the direction of its axis and. arotating motion. Fig. 4 is asec-- tion of a portion of the mechanism shown in Fig. 3. -This is a side view, and shows the .man'ner in which the rod is operated that opens the clutches and allows the cylinder to return afterbeing drawn or forced out the required distance. Fig.5 is a front view of the cylinder, showing the ratchet and the pawl which works between the teeth of the ratchet,

as also the lever and inclined rod by which the pawl is operated and the cylinder conse quently made to' rotate.

Similar lettersof reference indicate corre-- sponding parts in each of the several figures.

The nature of my invention consists in placing upon the periphery of a wheel the several kinds offtype used in ordinary printing, said type having the different forms of letters with numeral signs, marks lcf punctuation, &c. These typesareplaced vertically upon the periphery of a wheel which is horizontal and has two motions, one motion in the direction of its axis, which is vertical, and also a rotating pressed. -The cylinder also has'two motions,

one motion in the direction of its axis and a rotating motion. The horizontal wheel is made 'to rotate, and is also depressed by means of a lever, which will be hereinafter described.

Surrounding the horizontal wheel there is a circular rack having a rim on its lower edgeprojecting outward. On this rim are marked or stamped the letters and all characters which are on the type attached to the horizontal wheel, a letter or character being opposite each groove or niche infthe rack. An indexis attached to the horizontal wheel and so adjusted that when the end of the index is placed over a groove or niche in the rack, and the horizontal wheel depressedby means of the lever above mentioned. a type willbe'pressed upon thesurfaceof the paperupon thecylinder, said type-printing a'letter corresponding to that marked on the rim opposite to the niche in which the index is pressed. By thus tnrning the horizontal wheel and depressing it any desired letter may be printed on the paper. Every time the horizontal wheel is depressed the cylinder is moved forward before the type reaches the cylinder, by mechanism which will be presently described, and thus a sufiicient space is left between the letters. There is also a roller placed in the end of a. lever and operating in such a manner that types of difi'erent sizes will be correctly spaced. The printing on the paper is formed lengthwise of the cylinder, and hence the motion of the cylinder in the direction of its axis and the rotating motion of the cylinder are for the purpose of changing or shifting the cylinder, so that the required space is left between the ldiflerent lines, the cylinder being rotated the cut-sized letters, and the cylinder having aniotion in the direct-ion of its axis and also a'rotating motion given it by the devices which will be presently shown,or their equivalents, constitute the invention,

face of the type projecting a short distancebelow the-.under surface of the rim of the wheel. (See Fig. 1.) The lower end of the shaft B rests upon a spiral spring, b, and a bearing, a, the wheel A. v

C is an index attached to the upper part of the shaft B in the following manner: one end of the index is forked or has prongs 'd d,which areattached by pivots to the ends of a cross rod, e, said cross-rod being attached firmly to v the shaft on its upper end, (see Fig. 2,) the index being supported or held up by the spring f.

D is the circular rack or guide surrounding the horizontal wheel A, and supported by'rods from the base E of the machine. This rack has niches g in it, (seen more particularly in Fig. 1,) and opposite each niche there is a letter or character marked or stamped upon a rim, F, said rimbeing attached to the under surface of the rack. All the letters marked or stamped upon the rim correspond to the type on the horizontal wheel A.

G is the cylinder, upon which the paper is secured in any proper way, and this cylinder works underneath the horizontal wheel A. The types on the horizontal wheel are pressed on 'the paper and at the upper part of the cylinder.

His the lever by which the horizontal wheel is made to rotate, and is also depressed. This leverehas at one end a roller, i, which bears against the under surface of the rack D. (Seen more particularly in Fig. 2.) The center of the lever is attached to and bears or rests .upon the index at the point h. The opposite end of the lever is where the hand is applied to operate it. Now, in order to print upon the paper on the cylinder, the hand is applied to the end of the lever H, and the horizontal wheel A turns, and'with it the index G. hen the outer end of the index is over the niche opposite to which the desired letteris stamped or marked, the end of the lever H is depressed, the end of the index fittin v in the niche, audconsequently the horizonta wheel is depressed and the type immediately over the cylinder presses upon the paper and leaves its impression corresponding to the letter on the rim opposite the nichein which the end of the index is pressed, itbeing understood that the wheel is'depressed after the index is in the niche, as the lever H then.

bears directly upon the shaft B, the index be ing attached to the cross'rod-e by pivots before mentioned, .The wheel A, after being depressed, is elevated by the spiral spring underneath or within the base E, and the end of the index is elevated, after being depressed, by the spring f, as the end of the index should encompasses the shaft just below be elevated sufliciently to clear-the rack as the wheel A rotates.

The manner in which the desired letters may be printed on the paper on the cylinder will now be understood; but it will be seen that if the cylinder is-stationary the-letters will be printed over each other, and in order to form words it is necessary that the cylinder should move in thevdirection of its axis, so that the letters may be placed side by side and a sufiicient space be left between them.

I will proceed to describe one method of'operating the cylinder; but there may be various ways of doing it, and all answer equally well.

Around the shaft B there is a groove or recess, .j, (seen in Fig. 3,) to which figure I will principally refer in describing the movements of the cylinder. In this groove a pin, k, attached to a lever, I, fits. One end of this lever is attached to a socket, l, which works on a rod attached to an upright from the base.

The other end of the lever I bears upon a small spring-plate, 1-, attached to the upper joints of two levers, m n. These levers are also seen in Fig. 1. At the lower 'endof the leverm there is attached a plate, 0, which rests upon the base E, the end of the plate having a slot in it through which passes a pin or. screw, .p. Now, when the wheel'A is depressed, one end of the lever I acts upon the small spring-plate r and forces out the plate 0, the plate 0 being forcedbaclr again to its original position by the spring .9, (see Fig. 1,) attached by suitablelevers to it. Thus as the wheel A is depressed'by the lever H and elevated by the spiral spring]; a reciprocating motion is given this platen, the small spring.

plate 1' also being elevated to its original position when the wheel A is raised by a suitable spring.

Attached to the plate 0, and moving with it, is a clutch, J, through which a rod, t, at-

tached to the carriage K of the cylinder,

passes. This clutch, as the plate 0 moves for-- ward, grasps or bites the rod t, and consequently the carriage and cylinder are moved along with it. The carriage and cylinder are prevented from slipping back by means of a stationary clutch, L, attached to a plate, u. The clutch L is precisely similar to the clutch J, and holds the rodt permanent while the clutch J is moving back. The clutches are merely. small gates resting or held on the rod t by springs. A short distance out of center orfrom the points of suspension they are commonly used. The manner in which the cylinder is thus operated or moved in the direction of its axis will be readily seen, it being seen by'the drawings that the carriage runs upon ways 1) v.

When the paper to be printed upon is placed upon the cylinder, and it is desired to operate the machine, the cylinder is placed inward toward the shaft B as far as it will go, and the type on thehorizontal wheel A press upon the paper at the end where the ratchet M is placed, Figs. 1 and 2, and when the cylinclutches.

4 upon or stretched as the cylinder is forced outward; and when the rod t is relieved from the clutches LJ the cylinder is forced back. This rod 15 is relieved from the clutches in the following manner:

3 is a rod having two inclines, z 2, upon it, which are directly back of the gates of the These inclines are seen in Fig. 1. The end of this red is bent, or has a shoulder upon it, (see Fig. 4,) and is acted upon by a wire, z, bent in quadrant form. The quadrant 2 is attached to a small horizontal shaft,

.0, and'this shaft 0 is turned by a rod, P, at-

tached to the lever 10. There is a rod, Q, on the shaft 0, having a weight, j, on its upper end. (See Fig. 4 and dotted lines in Fig. 5.) The outer end of the rod 1? has two shoulders upon it, and the rod between the shoulders fits in a slot in the upper end of a small lever or shaft, to, attached to the shaft 0. Now,when the cylinder is moved forward a certain distance, the outer shoulder will act upon the small lever or shaft w and turn gradually the shaft.(), and when the shaft 0 isturned sufficiently to bring the weight y past the vertical point or position of the rod Q the weighty will fall by its own gravity and also cause the shaft 0 to turn rapidly, as Well as the quadrant z. The rod Q in descending acts upon the shoulder on the end of the rod y, or, rather, a pin, :0, on the rod, and the rod y is. thrown forward, the inclines zz throwing open the gates of the clutches and allowing the spiral spring N to force or throw back the cylinder to its original position. As the cylinder is thrown back, the other or inner shoulder acts upon the small lever or shaft w, turningthe shaft 0 back, raising the rod G and weight y, and also raising the quadrant z, a pin, '0, on the lower side of the quadrant elevating the end of the rod 3 and placing it in its original position. (See Fig. 4.) Before the weighty passes the vertical point a stud, a, on the shaft 0 acts upon a wire, I), (see Fig. 3,) causing it to vibrate and sound an alarm. This alarm is sounded before the cylinder is released, giving a person time to print two letters before the clutches are opened. By this arrange ment the words at the end of the line may be perfectly divided, or, if there is not room enough, the word may commence with the next line.

As the cylinder is forced back it is made to turn or rotate in a simple manner. This will be seen principally by referring to Fig. 5. M is a ratchet attached to the front of the cylinder, and R is a pawl which catches between the teeth of the ratchet. The pawl is connected byra pivot-to a lever, S, having a roller on its end, which works on the inclined wire T. As the cylinder is forced back the end of this lever S is raised in consequence of the roller passing up the inclined wire, and the pawl R is also raised and the ratchet and cylinder turned, a spring, t, keeping the pawl between the teeth. The cylinder is turned far enough to allow a sufficient space between the lines.

By referring to Fig., 1, a roller, U, will be seen a short distance from the type on the horizontal wheel. This roller is'placed on the end of a lever, V, attached to avertical shaft, W, which has a lever, X, on its lower end. To the end of this lever X there is attached a rod, Y, which is also attached to the lower end of the levern. (See Fig.3.) It willbe borne in mind that the types on the horizontal wheel will vary in thickness according to the letters on them, and if some provision is not made for their inequality the printing will not be even, the large letters will crowd or overlap thesmall'erones. Thearrangementjustshown obviates this, for a thick type will bear or press upon the roller U, by which the lever X draws upon the rod Y, which actsnpon the lower part of the lever n and forces the cylinder a little farther out, the bottom part of the lever being returned to its original position after the large or thick typehas passed or been depressed by the spring 8, before mentioned. There is also asmall spring, .9, which serves to regulate the lever n, this spring acting upon the lower end of the lever.

The necessary spaces between words and sentences are formed by bringing the-end of the index over a notch opposite to which, on the rim, there is no letter, and consequently no type on the wheel. By depressing the wheel A, when the index is in what may be called the blank niche, the cylinder will be moved forward, but no impression made on the paper. Spaces may also be made by operating the lever Z, the end' of which is connected to the plate 0, Fig. 3. By this means the cylinder may be moved with facility. It may be proper to state that the axis of the cylinder fits in asocket or hearing on one end of the carriage, and a spiral spring passes over the other end of the axisjkeeping the-cylinder in a concave rim. In. Fig. 3 the cylinder is omitted. The types on the horizontal wheel are inked by means of the rollers c c, which are pressed up against the type by means of springs, one of which, 02', is shown in Fig. 1.

The several parts are now described, and I will briefly go over the manner of operation.

The paper to be printed is placed upon or around the cylinder G, and secured to it in any proper manner. The cylinder is then placed upon the carriage K, and the carriage is placed as far inward or as near the shaft B of the wheel as it will go, so that the type will the type directly over the cylinder to be impressed upon the paper, the same letter as that marked or stamped upon the rim opposite the niche in which the index is placed. The index .is then turned to the niche opposite to the letter which is-nextwanted, and the wheel A again depressed by the lever H, the cylinder being moved forward or outward before the type reaches the paper by means'of the mechanism before described. Thus the second letter is printed, and so on. At the end of a word or sentence the requisite space is made by bringing the index over the blank niche, (indicated by +,')'which may be'seen in Figs. 1 and 2, andthen depressing the wheel, thus causing the cylinder to be moved without any impression being made on the paper, there.

being no type on the wheel corresponding to theblank niche; When the cylinder is moved forward or outward nearly its length and the line .coiisequently completed, the cylinder is 'lever S, the end of which is raised in passing up the inclined wire T, as before shown, the

turning or rotating of the cylinder leaving or causing the necessary space between the lines.

Having thus described the nature and operation of my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The employment or use of the circular rack D, which serves as a guide to the index C, said rack having a rim, F, attached to its under surface and projecting outward, with the necessary letters and characters stamped or placed upon it corresponding to the type placed on the periphery of the horizontal wheel, as specified.

2. Placing or securingthe type vertically to the periphery of a horizontal wheel having a rotating motion, and also amotion in the direction of its axis, by which, with the aid of the rack D and index, the required letters may be printed upon the paper, in combination with the rollci U, leversV X, and-the shaft W', or other equivalent device, for the purpose of operating upon the cylinder and I adjusting it to allow for the different thickness of type on the wheel, as herein described.

' 3. 4 The employment of the cylinder G, upon which the paper is secured, said cylinder having a motion in the direction of its axis, and

also a rotating motion, said'motions being communicated to it by the devices, as shownand described, or in any other equivalent manner.

JOHN JONES.

Witnesses:

O. D. MUNN, S. H. WALES. 

